What Light by Jay Asher

What Light by Jay Asher
Release Date - October 11, 2016

Publisher Website - Penguin Random House
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 256 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received from publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

From Jay Asher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why, comes a romance that will break your heart, but soon have you believing again. . . .

Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb's past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

What Light is a love story that's moving and life-affirming and completely unforgettable.

Jay Asher's What Light is a lot of things. It's the warmth of a perfectly made hot chocolate, the soft glow of Christmas lights, the fuzzy feeling of your favourite Christmas special and a Taylor Swift song all wrapped in a romantic read that is perfect for this upcoming holiday season.

I was initially drawn to the story because of the tree farm. I've always been curious about those who grow up with the experience Sierra has. The time spent away from home and friends, the second set of friends you only see for a brief time of year. Not to mention being surrounded by the feeling and smells of Christmas all the time. It felt like the perfect setting for a romance, and it turns out it is.

This is a story of a girl who keeps walls around herself, and a boy who everyone else keeps at arms length. It is a story of what happens when these two collide and each sees the other for who they really are. It's a sweet story of first love, and the uncertainty that comes along with everything worth trying for.

Jay Asher's talent is crafting rich, believable characters who are flawed. He allows those flaws to exist without being apologetic that the characters have them. They are simply part of who the characters are and that makes them feel all the more real. The writing is reminiscent of Thirteen Reasons Why but is packed with the warmth of the holiday season in a very tangible way. It is his writing that brings that heartbeat to the story and the characters.

The theme of forgiveness thrums through this story. It resonates through every page. Forgiveness of others, but also self forgiveness. Through Caleb's character we see what resentment, rumours, and the unwillingness to forgive yourself for past mistakes can do to someone. It's a powerful message, and one that I found immensely satisfying showcased in this way.

The romance is pretty swoon worthy. Filled with epic romantic gestures, and the ticking clock of Sierra's departure looming it is hard not to fall for this romance yourself. It's the kind of love story that you get lost in, and root for. I could easily see this as a holiday movie because so many of the scenes are vivid and already reads like a movie.

It's short page count ensures that you'll finish this off in an afternoon. It's tailor made to be yearly favourite with it pulled out each December for another read, much like those beloved holiday classics we watch each season. There is something magical about that time of year and it's been captured here within these pages.

It is a story of second changes, forgiveness, and the spirit of the season. A perfect read for those who love everything about the magical time of Christmas and romantic reads. It's the perfect book for a softly snowing winter day and demands to be read with a delicious peppermint hot chocolate.

Waiting On Wednesday ..... What Light

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is What Light by Jay Asher

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

From Jay Asher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why, comes a romance that will break your heart, but soon have you believing again. . . .

Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other. 

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb's past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

What Light is a love story that's moving and life-affirming and completely unforgettable.

I was immediately sold on this with the mention of Christmas tree farm. This is probably going to be a perfect read for the winter season and I cannot wait. I hope this romance is everything the synopsis is promising and more! It seems like the perfect book to curl up with on a stormy winter day with some hot chocolate and that is pretty much what I am going to do when I get my hands on this one.

Expected release date - October 11, 2016

Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Release Date – November 22, 2011
Publisher Website– Razorbill/Penguin
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 356 pages
My Rating- 8/10
**obtained from Book Expo America and the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.

Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM.

Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future.

Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

This novel takes place in 1996. I would have been around the same age as Josh and Emma at that time the story takes place. This would make me around the same age as the future selves that they see on Facebook (roughly 15 years into the future). I could easily recall that time period of my life, and this book brought back so many memories.

I believe that people who were teenagers around this time frame will especially enjoy this novel. It’s filled with nostalgia, memories, and does so in a clever fun way. The 90’s pop culture references were fantastic. The novel has a lot of really funny moments. Emma and Josh’s reactions to Facebook and status updates are especially funny. The meshing of the 90’s with current pop culture ( think Glee, Harry Potter, among others) and you have some great comedic moments.

Emma and Josh are typical teenagers. They are likeable enough characters, but neither one really stands out. They help the reader wonder what they would do if they were able to catch a glimpse of their own futures as a result. I think it works for this story because of the nature of the plot. I do like that the friendship between Emma and Josh seemed very natural.

A lot of the novel deals with whether or not seeing your future is a good thing, and what ripples the littlest change could make to a path you’ve already started down. The novel reinforces choice, and behaviour as powerful factors in what happens to us. It shows us that nothing is ever determined and that the littlest action can have a huge reaction to later events.

This novel is a quick, light hearted read that will leave you smiling and a little nostalgic if you were born in the 90’s. The thing I really took away from the novel, however, is that while it’s wonderful to plan for the future, make sure to live in the present. You might just miss something wonderful that is right in front of you.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Release Date – October 18, 2007 (released again in 2011)
Publisher – Razorbill (Penguin)
Publisher Social Media - Penguin (Razorbill)
Pages - 304
My Rating- 9.5/10

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face.

Thirteen Reasons Why is the gripping, addictive international bestseller that has changed lives the world over. It's an unrelenting modern classic.

I picked up this book not really sure what I was getting into. I am so glad I read it. I wish it would have been around when I was in high school.

The format of having Hannah’s tapes and Clay’s reactions together so that we are getting them right away really worked for me. I am not sure that having rotating chapters would have had the same outcome so I am glad that it was done this way.

I feel that this is more Clay’s story than anyone else in the novel. I felt for Clay throughout the whole book. Listening to these tapes and waiting to hear his name, almost waiting to be even more devastated than he already is. It would have put me on edge. We definitely get to see how this impacts Clay.

I admit I found Hannah to be a puzzle. She was sad, and I genuinely felt for her. Some of the things she went through are terrible. These tapes though, they almost seem like she just wanted payback. They didn’t really seem to be about closure and explaining things. I guess maybe she just wanted the people that hurt her to hurt as well. It was a lot of little things that seemed to build up for Hannah and not everyone would have reacted the same way to what happened to her, but they were her reasons. I will say that there is one event while it doesn’t directly happen to her would have devastated me as well. She sits through something and is unable to help and you can tell she feels awful about it. She feels just as responsible for what happened as the person who commits the act.

This book really makes you realize how the littlest thing can impact someone else. You don’t know what that person already has going on in their life, and your actions/comments/etc could really make the difference in someone’s life (or even not acting). It’s a great message that I think a lot of people should realize.

I ended up listening to some of the tapes (you can do that here)and it is even more heartbreaking to hear them.

This is the book that I think should be on a lot of high school reading lists, even read as a required book for English classes. It creates the opportunity to get conversation going, and hopefully helps people see that kindness, and basic decency to others isn’t a lot to ask for.